Food bowl

ABSTRACT

An improved food bowl having a bowl member and a lid member structured and arranged for serving ramen noodles and other soups, stews, cereals, and such fare as stir-fry meats and vegetables with rice, in restaurants or at home.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is related to and claims priority from prior provisional application Ser. No. 62/504,540, filed May 11, 2017 which application is incorporated herein by reference.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 37 CFR 1.71(d).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The following includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention(s). It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art, or material, to the presently described or claimed inventions, or that any publication or document that is specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to the field of food bowls and more specifically relates to an improved food bowl having a bowl member and a lid member structured and arranged for serving ramen noodles and other soups, stews, cereals, and such fare as stir-fry meats and vegetables with rice, in restaurants or at home.

2. Description of the Related Art

Consider, for example, the popularity of the microwave oven in today's household kitchen—and the need consumers have for microwave-safe, dishwasher-safe kitchenware. A bowl is a round, open-top container used in many cultures to serve hot and cold food. Bowls are also used for drinking, as in the case of caffè latte. Bowls are typically small and shallow, as in the case of bowls used for single servings of soup or cereal. Some bowls, such as punch bowls, serving bowls, fruit bowls and salad bowls are larger and often intended to serve many people.

Unfortunately, not all bowls are microwave-safe and the ones that are have to be hand-washed or washed in a dishwasher. Therefore a need exists for a single-serving bowls—attractive in themselves in terms of design, and highly versatile in their function structured and arranged to go straight from the microwave to the dinner table, would meet consumers' need for simple practicality, and their desire for aesthetically pleasing dinnerware.

Various attempts have been made to solve problems found in food bowl art. Among these are found in: U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,446 to Yojiro Gen et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,979 to Alain Bourgeois; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,710 to Nicholas D. Commisso. This prior art is representative of lidded food bowls with insulation, decoration, geometric shapes, steam vents, and/or finger holds.

Ideally, an improved food bowl should be user-friendly and safe in-use and, yet would operate reliably and be manufactured at a modest expense. Thus, a need exists for an improved food bowl having a bowl member and a lid member structured and arranged for serving ramen noodles and other soups, stews, cereals, and such fare as stir-fry meats and vegetables with rice, in restaurants or at home and to avoid the above-mentioned problems.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known of food bowl device art, the present invention provides a novel improved food bowl. The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail is to provide an improved food bowl having a bowl member and a lid member structured and arranged for serving ramen noodles and other soups, stews, cereals, and such fare as stir-fry meats and vegetables with rice, in restaurants or at home.

An improved food bowl comprising: a bowl member and a lid member. The bowl member includes a flat bottom portion, a side portion, and a rim portion. Wherein the flat bottom portion is adapted to engage a supporting surface and retain the improved food bowl in a stable position. Wherein the side portion is attached to and extends upwardly from the flat bottom portion and forms an edge portion thereon. Wherein the rim portion extends around the edge portion of the side portion. Wherein the bowl member is formed having a substantially hemispherical shape.

The lid member includes: a top portion, side portion, and a rim portion. Wherein the top portion is formed from a solid material and includes at least two spaced indentations upon an outer surface portion thereof adapted to allow a user to grip and manipulate the lid member with their fingers. Wherein the side portion is attached to and extends downwardly from the top portion and forms an edge portion thereon. Wherein the side portion includes at least one vent hole extending therethrough and adapted to allow air and steam to pass therethrough. Wherein the rim portion extends around the edge portion of the side portion and is adapted to releasably engage the rim portion of the bowl member. Wherein the lid member is formed having a substantially hemispherical shape. Wherein the lid member is adapted to releasably engage the bowl member via the rim portions and form a hollow interior volume adapted to retain liquids and food therein.

The present invention holds significant improvements and serves as a Improved Food Bowl. For purposes of summarizing the invention, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features of the invention have been described herein. It is to be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any one particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein. The features of the invention which are believed to be novel are particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings and detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The figures which accompany the written portion of this specification illustrate embodiments and method(s) of use for the present invention, an Improved Food Bowl, constructed and operative according to the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view illustrating a Improved Food Bowl having a bowl member and a lid member according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is another perspective view illustrating the bowl member and lid member of the Improved Food Bowl according to an embodiment of the present invention of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the Improved Food Bowl in an assembled condition according to an embodiment of the present invention of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a top perspective view illustrating the lid member of the Improved Food Bowl according to an embodiment of the present invention of FIG. 1.

The various embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein like designations denote like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As discussed above, embodiments of the present invention relate to a food bowl device and more particularly to an Improved Food Bowl having a bowl member and a lid member structured and arranged for serving ramen noodles and other soups, stews, cereals, and such fare as stir-fry meats and vegetables with rice, in restaurants or at home

Generally speaking, the Improved Food Bowl comprising a novel product offering consumers a practical solution to the aforementioned challenges. As the name implies, the Improved Food Bowl comprises a specially designed product line of distinctive and functional, single-serving, lidded bowls—microwave- and dishwasher-safe, with designs inspired by those of Japanese animation, or anime. Ideal for fare ranging from ramen noodles to soups, stews, and cereal, the Improved Food Bowl would not only be easy to use and easy to care for, but highly appealing in their design and colors, especially to millions of consumers who enjoy (or are addicted to!) anime and manga.

The Improved Food Bowl would be produced in food-grade, microwave- and dishwasher-safe molded thermoplastic. The Bowls would be flat-bottomed and hemispherical, with coordinating, hemispherical lids or covers; and each bowl would measure 7 inches in diameter at its widest point. The lids would feature contoured, ribbed “fingertip grips” for easy removal, as well as vent-holes to let steam escape while keeping food hot. Further, although the top half is hemispherical, it is not hollow, but instead—other than the steam-vents—solid, with a lip that extends slightly into the interior of the bottom, food-containing, half. The solid top is designed to conserve heat, and keep hot food—such as ramen noodles, stews, or soups—hot.

Attractive as well as functional, the Improved Food Bowl would feature a variety of anime- or manga-inspired themes, scenes, motifs, and characters. If done as original artwork, these would be new creations done in the anime or manga style, and thus require no licensing agreements. If done to depict existing anime or manga characters (LeLouch Lamperouge, Edward Elric, Light Yagami, etc.), production and sale of the Improved Food Bowl would require licensing agreements. In the Improved Food Bowl consumers would have a product line of attractive, entertaining bowls—microwave- and dishwasher-safe—for foods ranging from ramen noodles to other soups, stews, stir-fries, rice dishes, even breakfast cereals. Virtually unbreakable, the Improved Food Bowl would be perfect for any household, and especially restaurants that serve ramen, while appealing most strongly to the millions of consumers who enjoy the video and graphic arts of anime and manga.

Anime is big business, not only in Japan but worldwide: According to the Association of Japanese Animations (AJA) “Anime Industry Report 2015,” which examined industry trends from 2014, the total market value of the anime industry in 2014 was about US $13.5 billion, up about 10% from 2013's $12.4 billion. Thus, the Improved Food Bowl would appeal by both their function and their design, with their spherical shape, their lids that keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold, and their pleasing array of characters and motifs inspired by manga and anime.

Referring to the drawings by numerals of reference there is shown in FIGS. 1-4, perspective views illustrating improved food bowl 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Improved food bowl 100 is disclosed herein in a preferred embodiment comprising: bowl member 110 and lid member 140. Wherein bowl member 110 and lid member 140 are formed from a thermoplastic material. Bowl member 110 includes flat bottom portion 200, side portion 120, and rim portion 130. Wherein flat bottom portion 200 is adapted to engage a supporting surface and retain improved food bowl 100 in a stable position as shown in FIG. 3. Wherein side portion 120 is attached to and extends upwardly from flat bottom portion 200 and forms an edge portion 124 thereon. Wherein rim portion 130 extends around the edge portion of side portion 120. Wherein bowl member 110 is formed having a substantially hemispherical shape.

Lid member 140 includes: top portion 150, side portion 160, and rim portion 180. Wherein top portion 150 is formed from a solid material and includes at least two spaced indentations 400 upon an outer surface portion thereof adapted to allow user 350 to grip and manipulate lid member 140 with their fingers as shown in in-use condition 300 of FIG. 3. Wherein each of at least two spaced indentations 400 upon the outer surface portion of top portion 150 of lid member 140 include ribs 410 upon a surface thereof adapted to increase the ability of user 350 to grip and manipulate lid member 140 via at least two spaced indentations 400. Wherein there are five spaced indentations upon the outer surface portion of top portion 150 of lid member 140 adapted to allow user 350 to grip and manipulate lid member 140 using four fingers and a thumb from one hand. Wherein top portion 150 of lid member 140 is formed from an insulating material adapted to retain heat within hollow interior volume 190.

Wherein side portion 160 of lid member 140 is attached to and extends downwardly from top portion 150 and forms edge portion 170 thereon. Wherein side portion 160 includes at least one vent hole 164 extending therethrough and adapted to allow air and steam to pass therethrough. Wherein rim portion 180 extends around edge portion 170 of side portion 160 and is adapted to releasably engage rim portion 130 of bowl member 110. Wherein there may be two spaced vent holes 166 within side portion 160 of lid member 140 as shown in FIG. 1. Wherein there are four spaced vent holes 440 within side portion 160 of lid member 140. Wherein lid member 140 is formed having a substantially hemispherical shape.

Wherein lid member 140 is adapted to releasably engage bowl member 110 via rim portion 130 of bowl member 110 and rim portion 180 of lid member 140 and form hollow interior volume 190 adapted to retain liquids and food therein. Wherein rim portion 130 of bowl member 110 have threads 136 and rim portion 180 of lid member 140 also have threads 186 thereon adapted to respectively interdigitate with one another, such that user 350 can rotate lid member 140 in one direction with respect to bowl member 110 to securely attach lid member 140 to bowl member 110 and rotate lid member 140 in a second direction with respect to bowl member 110 to detach lid member 140 from bowl member 110. Wherein rim portion 130 of bowl member 110 and rim portion 180 of lid member 140 each have a diameter of 7 inches. Wherein rim portion 130 of bowl member 110 have ridges 138 and rim portion 180 of lid member 140 each have ridges have ridges 188 thereon adapted to respectively interdigitate with one another, such that user 350 can snap lid member 140 onto and off of bowl member 110 to thereby securely attach or detach lid member 140 upon bowl member 110.

The embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary and numerous modifications, variations and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve substantially equivalent results, all of which are intended to be embraced within the spirit and scope of the invention. Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientist, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An improved food bowl comprising: a bowl member including: a flat bottom portion; wherein said flat bottom portion is adapted to engage a supporting surface and retain said improved food bowl in a stable position; a side portion; wherein said side portion is attached to and extends upwardly from said flat bottom portion and forms an edge portion thereon; and a rim portion; wherein said rim portion extends around said edge portion of said side portion; wherein said bowl member is formed having a substantially hemispherical shape; a lid member including: a top portion; wherein said top portion is formed from a solid material and includes at least two spaced indentations upon an outer surface portion thereof adapted to allow a user to grip and manipulate said lid member with their fingers; a side portion; wherein said side portion is attached to and extends downwardly from said top portion and forms an edge portion thereon; and wherein said side portion includes at least one vent hole extending therethrough and adapted to allow air and steam to pass therethrough; and a rim portion; wherein said rim portion extends around said edge portion of said side portion and is adapted to releasably engage said rim portion of said bowl member; wherein said lid member is formed having a substantially hemispherical shape; wherein said lid member is adapted to releasably engage said bowl member via said rim portions and form a hollow interior volume adapted to retain liquids and food therein.
 2. The improved food bowl of claim 1, wherein said top portion of said lid member is formed from an insulating material adapted to retain heat within said hollow interior volume.
 3. The improved food bowl of claim 1, wherein there are two spaced vent holes within the side portion of said lid member.
 4. The improved food bowl of claim 1, wherein there are four spaced vent holes within the side portion of said lid member.
 5. The improved food bowl of claim 1, wherein each of said at least two spaced indentations upon said outer surface portion of said top portion of said lid member include ribs upon a surface thereof adapted to increase the ability of a user to grip and manipulate said lid member via said at least two spaced indentations.
 6. The improved food bowl of claim 5, wherein there are five spaced indentations upon said outer surface portion of said top portion of said lid member adapted to allow a user to grip and manipulate said lid member using four fingers and a thumb from one hand.
 7. The improved food bowl of claim 1, wherein said rim portions of said bowl member and said lid member each have threads thereon adapted to respectively interdigitate with one another, such that a user can rotate said lid member in one direction with respect to said bowl member to securely attach said lid member to said bowl member and rotate said lid member in a second direction with respect to said bowl member to detach said lid member from said bowl member.
 8. The improved food bowl of claim 1, wherein said rim portions of said bowl member and said lid member each have a diameter of 7 inches.
 9. The improved food bowl of claim 1, wherein said bowl member and said lid member are formed from a thermoplastic material.
 10. The improved food bowl of claim 1, wherein said rim portions of said bowl member and said lid member each have ridges thereon adapted to respectively interdigitate with one another, such that a user can snap said lid member onto and off of said bowl member to thereby securely attach or detach said lid member upon said bowl member. 